Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Steven Gerrard won his first managerial clash with former England teammate Frank Lampard as Aston Villa beat Everton 2-1 to get off the mark in the Premier League. Goals from Danny Ings and Emi Buendia eased the pressure on Gerrard after a run of two wins in their previous 12 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday said he was surprised that German midfielder Toni Kroos did not feature on the list of 30 finalists for the Ballon d'Or. Five members of the Champions League winning side were nominated on Friday in the shape of Thibault Cortois, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior […]

Berlin (AFP) – Eighteen-year-old Englishman Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored one and created another as Borussia Dortmund came back to defeat Freiburg 3-1 on Friday with all their goals coming in the last 13 minutes of the game. With the game drifting towards defeat, Dortmund were again able to rely on their young brigade, with Bynoe-Gittens and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Osasuna stunned Champions League qualifiers Sevilla 2-1 in the opening match of the new Liga season on Friday. Argentine striker Ezequiel 'Chimy' Avila gave Osasuna a ninth-minute lead. However, the advantage lasted just two minutes before Rafa Mir made the most of a fine pass from another Argentine, Papu Gomez to equalise. […]

Paris (AFP) – Lille moved to the top of the fledgling Ligue 1 table after Ismaily's second half equaliser secured a draw from a tough contest at Nantes on Friday. Lille went into the game on the back of an impressive 4-1 win over Auxerre in last week's opening round but they were on the […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona managed to register new signings Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha on Friday in time for their Liga opener against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. However, French defender Jules Kounde remains unregistered with La Liga. Barcelona have spent 153 million euros on transfer fees alone to strengthen their squad, with […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Willian quit Corinthians on Friday following the Brazilians' Copa Libertadores elimination against domestic rivals Flamengo, after claiming he and his family received death threats on social media. "Willian asked us for his (contract) termination. We are sad not to have him any more and also because […]

Paris (AFP) – Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi paid a high price for an underwhelming first season with Paris Saint-Germain when he was left off the 30-strong list for this year's coveted football award. Lucy Bronze, who was runner-up in 2019, is one of three members of England's Euro-winning squad to be short-listed for […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said Sunday's match away to London rivals Chelsea will be an acid test of his side's progress. Spurs lost four times to Chelsea last season, including three defeats, two in the League Cup semi-final followed by one in the league, in January. A fine finish to […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola said he has been taken aback by Erling Haaland's desire to succeed after Manchester City's new striker announced his arrival in English football by scoring twice on his Premier League debut last weekend. City beat off competition from around Europe for the Norwegian after he scored 86 goals in 89 […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid pair Karim Benzema and Thibaut Courtois and Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne were on Friday shortlisted for the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award. The European body of European football said that a jury made up of journalists and representatives of clubs playing in European competitions voted for the […]

Milan (AFP) – Filip Kostic completed his transfer to Juventus from Eintracht Frankfurt on Friday after signing a four-year deal with the Serie A club. Serbia winger Kostic arrives in Turin in a transfer worth "12 million ($12.3m) euros payable in three financial years", Juventus said, with further costs and potential bonuses pushing the value […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Erik ten Hag expects Marcus Rashford to remain at Manchester United despite rumours this week that Paris St Germain have made contact with the forward's representatives. Rashford's form dipped dramatically last season as he scored just four goals in 25 Premier League games, which has led to him being dropped […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said he will always have a "close bond" with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as speculation links the Barcelona forward with a move to Stamford Bridge. The Blues are looking to reinforce their forward line after the departures of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner. Aubameyang, who only joined Barcelona in January, […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Cash-strapped Spanish football club Barcelona have sold part of their media production unit "Barca Studios" for 100 million euros, the club announced on Friday. Barcelona had to cut player wages and off-load their star Lionel Messi last year as the club face up to an economic crisis caused by loss of revenue […]